If It's a Rose, Then It Will Bloom
by Crystal104
Summary: Orginially entitled "Red to Copper", I've edited it again. Hope you likies! =)


"Go, go, go!!" George hissed as he helped Alicia climbed the rope ladder leading up into the tree fort. George took a simple moment to watch her climbing up and tore his eyes away from her figure as he checked to make sure his paint gun was strapped around his shoulder.  
  
"Geez, George," Alicia complained as he ambled up the ladder clumsily. "They're not even over here, they're duking it out over there," Alicia looked over her shoulder and quickly jabbed a thumb in that direction.  
  
George, who had started climbing the ladder, gave that direction a quick glance, but his reply didn't let Alicia know. "Will you hurry up?"  
  
He watched at a weird angle as Alicia grabbed either side of the door frame and pulled herself up. She quickly turned to grab George's hand and help him up. He fell to rest on the wood floorboards, breathing heavily and sprawled out as though he'd tripped and fallen there. Charlie, or at least it looked like Charlie, had been hunting after the two of them for the past five minutes.  
  
"What are we doing here?" Alicia asked, poking at George's side. He rolled over in response.  
  
"Resting. catching our breath... I think we lost him."  
  
"And who, might I ask, is he?"  
  
"Charlie!"  
  
"George, I think you were imagining him following us," Alicia said matter- of-factly.  
  
"No I wasn't!"  
  
"Mmhmm..." replied Alicia in an unbelieving tone, sitting down next to him.  
  
"Well, how to explain all those shots at us?"  
  
"It could have been anyone."  
  
"Alright, fine then... THEY were after us. Do you believe THAT?" asked George.  
  
"Yes, very much so!" he could tell she was smiling broadly by the way she said this. George wanted to ask her, 'You always have to be right, don't you?' but he never got the chance...  
  
Just then a loud scratching sound was heard over in an unlit corner. Alicia squealed as George sat bolt up right, grabbing Alicia and pulling her behind him. She didn't need to be told twice. George stood, peering around the tree fort.  
  
It was quiet for a moment until all of a sudden a large possum came out of the unlit corner. Its eye flashed menacingly in the moon light as it hissed at the two teenagers.  
  
"Ah!" George yelped as Alicia threw her self on George's back for protection. Within the next few seconds, however, the possum froze, and fell over, pretending to be dead.  
  
"Is it ... dead?" Alicia inquired in a frightened whisper, pulling herself closer to George and peering over his shoulder. George's breathing was rigged, half out of surprise, and half out of the fact that the girl he fancied had her body pressed against his back.  
  
"No ..." George swallowed. "No, I think it's just playing dead." Alicia released her grip on him as George moved cautiously towards the trap door in the centre of the fort. He kicked it open and removed the paint gun from around his shoulder. Alicia made a whimper of a sound as George inched closer to the animal. He poked it with the end of the gun just to make sure it wouldn't attack.  
  
"Aah!" he yelped in attempt to scare Alicia. She screamed and he heard a loud thump. George chuckled quietly as he maneuvered around the little beast and poked at it again.  
  
"Ow!" she moaned.  
  
George pushed the animal out of the hole and watched it fall down to the ground with a loud thump.  
  
"Eeeeeh ..." George commented. He starred at the rope ladder, which hung from the door and wondered whether he should bring it up. He decided no, and closed the trap door.  
  
"Ow ..." Alicia repeated in a more urgent and annoyed tone.  
  
"What's wrong?" George said as he turned to her. What he saw next made him want to laugh harder than anything in his entire life. There was Alicia, adorned in baggy camouflage shorts and a green tank top with her hair stuck on a loose board. After a couple seconds, the laughter escaped from his throat.  
  
"Stop laughing!" Alicia said as she wildly kicked out at him. George jumped out of the way and laughed harder.  
  
"How?" was the only thing he could ask as he laughed at her.  
  
"You scared me!" Alicia accused him. Her hands were on top of her head, trying to get her hair untangled. From what he could see, she was only making it worse. "Help me!!" she yelped.  
  
"No way!" George replied, his voice cracking, "You'd kill me if I got within five feet of you!"  
  
"Would not," Alicia said, becoming very still, and trying to look innocent. George rolled his eyes to say yeah right, but he went to help her anyways.  
  
"Move your hands," George demanded.  
  
Alicia made a noise of protest and slowly released her head.  
  
George starred at the now rats nest of Alicia's hair and let out a long impressed whistle and began to gently pull at her entangled hair  
  
"Ouch!" Alicia squealed. She gave a prompt growl.  
  
"Sorry, didn't mean to." He moved closer and examined her tangled brown hair. He'd just gotten the hang of it when out of the corner of his eye, he saw something shiney. He looked at Alicia's face and found she was wiping at her eyes.  
  
"You okay?!" George asked surprised. The fact that it smeared her army paint in a funny way would have made George laugh if it weren't for the fact that she was upset.  
  
"Yes," Alicia replied with a small laugh, wiping at her eyes and face. More smudging occurred. George swallowed.  
  
"Why are you crying, then?" George wanted to know. He pulled a bit more at her hair.  
  
"I'm fine ... I'm just stupid, that's all," she said quietly, giving another fake laugh.  
  
"What!? No you're not stupid!" George told her, "Why do you think that?" George abandoned her hair and moved to look at her face better.  
  
"It's ... just that I always do stupid stuff like this," Alicia motioned towards her hair.  
  
"It wasn't your fault, it was mine," George tried to apologize. She said nothing so he went back to work.  
  
"Yeah, well I know you're going to tell everyone about this now," Alicia said, moving her head to the side so he could get a better look. "And it's just that I'm always doing this stuff... may as well be Alicia Longbottom." George snorted. He was just about done with the tangles. Wanting to say something, George frowned when he couldn't find the words.  
  
"Done," George said finally.  
  
"So you ARE going to tell them," Alicia said indignantly, moving away from the boarded wall which had kept her prisoner.  
  
"Not if you don't want me to!"  
  
"Does it sound like I want you to? You're always picking on me and making fun of me. Pushing me, and tripping me ..." Alicia said with a little sniffle. George was quiet. He knew why he did those things; he liked her. But how could he tell her that? It was lucky at that at that moment he got her hair untangled.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly as she massaged the top of her head.  
  
"I know," she said, wiping at her eyes and smiling weakly up at him. He smiled down at her, and held in a laugh. Her hair was all a mess, her eyes were red, and her army paint was all smudged.  
  
"Why are you laughing?" she asked, even though he hadn't at all. George looked taken aback.  
  
"How'd you--.. uh... I mean... What the hell are you talking about!?" George asked innocently, a grin on his freckled face.  
  
"George Weasley, I've known you since I was eleven years old, don't play innocent with me!" she scolded him, smiling at him.  
  
"My dear sweet Alicia ... you know me too well," George said, placing his hand at his heart. He smiled, though he knew that was a lie. 'If you knew me that well, you would know I'm in love with you' George tried to send her a mental vibe.  
  
"It's a gift, and a burden," Alicia answered, standing. George, too, stood and waited for her to finish brushing off.  
  
"Alright, end of argument ... can I have a hug now?" George asked with open arms. Alicia smiled at him and allowed him to take her in his arms. He squeezed her tightly and shook her slightly. The hug lasted a couple more seconds longer than normal, but he didn't sense her trying to get out of his embrace. In fact it was a different type of hug... nah, you're imagining things, George told himself.  
  
"You never told me what you were laughing about," Alicia pointed out in a muffled voice.  
  
"Oh ... your hair looks funny," George said with a grin on his face. She pushed him away.  
  
"Shut up," she demanded, though she was smiling.  
  
"Well, I'm not about to tell everyone about this, but I mean your hair would have given it away in seconds," George said.  
  
"No, they probably would have thought we were doing something else ..." Alicia said quietly. George raised his eye brows, and gave a small chuckle. What was that supposed to mean? he wondered. But he didn't ask. He simply watch as dug through her pocket and extracted a small box.  
  
"What is THAT?" George asked.  
  
"First aid kit," said Alicia matter-of-factly. George snorted as Alicia pressed a small button, and the box enlarged. She opened it a pulled out a small hair brush.  
  
"Ouchies," she said as she began to brush the knots out of her hair.  
  
"Want me to help?" George offered in a girly voice.  
  
"Sure!" Alicia said in an equally girly voice, but she kept brushing her own hair.  
  
"Fine, then! Be that way!" George said, crossing his arms in a girl-like fashion and turning his back on her.  
  
"Alright, you're starting to scare me now," said Alicia. George laughed, and turned back around to watch her. The sound of the bristles of the brush coming in contact with, but never changing the knots echoed around the two of them. George winced.  
  
"My lord, how bad was it?!" Alicia asked.  
  
"Bad," George said, kneeling down beside her and taking the brush from her hands. "Make you a deal," He started as he began to brush the knots out of Alicia's hair. Alicia began to giggle.  
  
"What's that?" she asked, finally controlling her giggles.  
  
"I won't tell them about you getting stuck ..." George said, as he brushed the tangles out easily. "If you don't tell them about this." George gave Alicia her brush back and he watched as she reached up and touched her now smooth and knot-less hair.  
  
"How did you ...?" Alicia began, running her fingers through her hair to see how smooth it was.  
  
"Ginny," answered George.  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Alicia.  
  
"Our mum used to make us play dolls with her as punishment when we were younger," George said, blushing. Alicia let out a laugh.  
  
"That's cruel," she responded, putting her brush back in the box.  
  
"I know!! I mean, what parent makes their sons play wi-" George began but Alicia cut him off.  
  
"No, I'm talking about cruelty to Ginny," Alicia snapped. George laughed.  
  
"So, what to do now? Want to go back out onto the battle field?" George motioned towards the door.  
  
"No, I like it here," Alicia answered, pulling a candle out of her bag. 'What else is in that thing?' George wondered as she dug around for matches. She lit the candle and placed it in the center of the fort.  
  
George sat down near the door, leaned against the wall, and watched Alicia pack away her things. Her make up was still smudged, which made her cuter than ever. He wondered where her cloak was right now, since they'd lost it when they had to run from Charlie. And now she wore the sort of thing muggles wore in combat. (Or so he supposed) Why was it that when she wasn't trying her hardest to be pretty was the one time he was most attracted to her? George chuckled at the irony.  
  
"What?" she asked, pushing the button of the box, which shrank back to the small size.  
  
"Nothing," he replied as she scooted over towards him and planted herself on his right.  
  
"Can you believe Hogwarts is almost over? It's amazing, really... how fast the time went by," Alicia said. George agreed.  
  
"Yeah ... so many pranks yet to be pulled, so little time." George though to himself about the Wizard Weezes hidden in their room. He was surprised their mother hadn't found them yet.  
  
"You and pranks ... why so obsessed? Why do you love making a mess of things?" Alicia asked, stretching. George had to close his eyes so he wouldn't peek at her.  
  
"Well come on! If Fred and I were good little boys, everyone would think it a joke! We're the bad boys! The comic relief! The charmingly, witty handsome guys who everyone looks at and expects to make boring classes eventful. It's not like we have a choice," George said. Alicia was quiet.  
  
"Yeah... the world WOULD be pretty boring without you, George" she agreed in a silky voice, placing a hand on his arm. George glanced at her and his lips parted slightly. Maybe it was just his imagination, or just her making a mistake, but she had made a certain specification that he'd grown quite accustomed to listening for: The fact that she had finished her sentence with, "You, George." echoed around George's mind like a the roll. She hadn't said anything about Fred at all, only himself. It was quiet for a few minutes, and George wondered if he should say something. And when there wasn't anything to say, it seemed to become even quieter than before.  
  
"I'm tired," yawned Alicia, putting her head on George's shoulder and closing her eyes. George starred down at the top of Alicia's head and blinked. He'd never felt closer to Alicia than at the very moment, and there was nothing more he wanted to do than embrace her.  
  
'Stupid' George thought to himself, like the seemingly hundreds of time before when he had had the perfect chance to show Alicia how he felt about her.  
  
'Do it,' came another voice. George's eyebrows furrowed. Where did this new voice come from? Something was telling him the time was right. So he finally pushed the negative thoughts out of his head and placed a small kick on the top of her head. He breathed a small sigh of relief when she didn't move or protest.  
  
George closed his eyes, and held his breath as Alicia shifted. 'What now, Stupid? You might have made it this far, but what next?' asked the first voice. George's eyes darted back and forth. Was he going crazy?  
  
But George wasn't the next one to make a move. George froze as Alicia's legs halfway curled up and she laid them on his. Emboldened by her actions, George held his breath as slipped his hand into hers and their fingers intertwined. It wasn't as though he'd never held hands with Alicia, but then it was only an act of friendship, when they were being goofy or something--skipping down the halls of Hogwarts together. But now he heard Alicia sigh, which made George smile. He played his thumb along the side of her hand, and looking down at her, suddenly finding he was nervous again.  
  
But it was a different kind of nervous, he noted. As he tried to define this, his gaze traveled up her body. Her long legs were unusually shiny, reflecting the glowing candle. They were the legs of an athlete, strong and shaped, but not too muscular. 'More curvy, as a woman should be' was the thought that came across George's mind.  
  
As his eyes traveled up her body, several less than appropriate thoughts sparked in his mind, and his eyebrows rose. But he mentally shook himself, and told himself no and squeezed Alicia's hand. Alicia squeezed back and nuzzled against him a bit.  
  
George rested his head back against the wall and starred at the ceiling (if you wanted to call it a ceiling, since it wasn't much of one). Here he was with the witty, charming, beautiful and oh-so-talented Alicia Spinnet sitting beside him, snuggled up to him. He smiled broadly and closed his eyes.  
  
It was still and quiet for a couple moments when there was a sudden paintball shot closer that seemed too close for comfort. George stiffened, his breath caught in his throat.  
  
"I can hear your heart," Alicia whispered, her hand on his chest. George felt the awkward jolt again in the pit of his stomach, wondering if Alicia was at all at ease. Well, she sure as heck knew how to calm him. George let out a slow sigh as he starred at the top of her head. Rather uncomfortably but somehow naturally, leaned his head onto hers. Her soft hair felt like silk against his lower cheek and smelled like . like something. George didn't quite know how to explain it, rather than it smelled like a meadow on a warm spring day. George breathed the scent in, closing his eyes pleasurably. Another gun shot rang through the summer air. George inhaled quickly, his eyes darting around in search for their own gun. Alicia's was in the corner near the door and George's. his gaze fell on the candle. Who ever was out there would see the light.  
  
"Alicia, we have to blow out the candle," George whispered. Alicia looked up at him, and smiled.  
  
"Don't want them to find us?" she asked, her voice cracking ever so slightly. George winked playfully but Alicia only rolled her eyes. The last thing she let go of was his hand before she crawled over to the candle. George peered out the window near his head and watched for the spark of a gun, or movement among the trees. Alicia she blew out the candle and the only source of light was the moon, which had been halfway covered by the overcast sky. The strip of moonlight cast itself across her face as she crawled back over to him, sitting down next to him and snuggling up to him once more.  
  
George noticed she was much closer to him now. Her legs, which were curled up, leaned on his, and her head was closer to the center of his chest. She was clinging onto him, and George loved it. He put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her even closer.  
  
It was then that she made her mistake. Later on, he knew she had planned this, but just when he wasn't expecting it ... she tickled him.  
  
"Aah! No!" he tried to fight her, but she pinned him down with a knee to the stomach which knocked him of his breath, took both of his wrists in one hand and put them above his head. She then began to tickle him mercilessly. George, however, was stronger than she was, and easily wriggled out of her grip. As payback, he grabbed both of HER wrists and rolled over so she was underneath him. She giggled and he smiled rather menacingly down at her. "Oh now you're going to get it," George told her, grabbing her sides. She giggled and squirmed, squealing with laughter and effort to escape. Before he knew it however, her cinnamon brown, wide-eyed innocent seeming eyes had captured his own and the tickling torture desisted.  
  
George's took that moment study her arresting face, on which a loose strand of hair had fallen over. With an almost trembling hand, he took the strand between he fingers and brushed it away. Her dark eyes reflected the moonlight as they searched his, and he noticed, not for the first time, the soft color in her sweet curled lips. Alicia was smiling, rather nervously was breathing hard; her chest rising and falling quickly. With her hands held above her head thus so, her cute little stomach showed. George realized really what sort of a position they were in and released her small wrists. But he soon wished he hadn't, as he couldn't seem to find a place to put his hands. They finally came to rest on either side of her.  
  
He looked back into her eyes, which again shone in the pale moonlight. She slowly licked her lips, and closed her eyes. He wasn't sure if he should kiss her or not...  
  
"Alicia..." George whispered  
  
"Yes?" Alicia's eyes fluttered open, sort of disappointed. George hesitated for only a moment before leaning in. ...soft and full, her lips tasted sweet like honey. He breathed deeply, taking in her heavenly scent. Her hands, now free of his grasp, traveled up his arms and biceps, exploring the back of his neck, his hair, and his shoulders. It was then he thanked the Quidditch Gods for his position as beater on the school team. A dreamy intimacy to their kiss now.  
  
.Suddenly the trap door flew open and George, out of surprise and fright, lost his balance and fell on top of Alicia, conking his forehead on hers. He rubbed his head and, looking over, saw the one person he didn't want to see ... his twin. Alicia, with force enough to knock some wind out of him, quickly pushed George off her and inched away from sitting up and hugging her knees.  
  
"WHOA!" Fred said, climbing into the fort, not taking his eyes off the two of them.  
  
"What's going on?" came Angelina's voice from below.  
  
"Nothing," George said quickly, standing up.  
  
"That was nothing?! I'd like to see what you call 'something'!" said Fred with a slight chuckle. George glared, as Fred moved on to help Alicia up. But she declined his help by swatting his hand away from her. She got up herself and pushed past both twins rather hastily and made to escape down the trap door...  
  
"Alicia," George called after her, moving towards the door. She gave one glance up at him before disappearing.  
  
"Yeah! Where are you going!? I wanted to see the rest of the show!!" Fred added as he came up to George's side and called out. He chuckled and elbowed George in the stomach. What was so funny, George hadn't a clue, but he didn't even try to wonder as he coldly starred at his twin, not really seeing him, but hating him very much at the moment. It took a few moments for Fred to look up, but when he did, he was instantly on his guard.  
  
"Whoa!! What did I do? You're the one about to his third base with one of your best friends. You didn't tell me ..." Fred started, backing away slightly. George's gaze looked up at the ceiling now. "Sorry," Fred apologized silently. George licked his lips and grinned sarcastically.  
  
"Oh, no problem!" replied George in an annoyed tone, hoping Fred would pick up on the sarcasm. Fred took another daring step back as George began to climb down the rope ladder and Angelina's voice floated up from the ground below him.  
  
"Would somebody please clue me in on what's going on!?" she asked as he jumped down and hit the dirt beneath.  
  
"Oh, I'm sure Alicia will tell you later," George replied. "Which way did she go?" Angelina pointed in the direction of the house and opened her mouth to say something, but George didn't wait to hear it. Instead he gave a curt thank you and began to dash towards The Burrow.  
  
"Wait you forgot your paint gun!" Fred called after him out of the window. George didn't even turn around.  
  
"Alicia!" he called out in a hushed yell. George could see the house, but she was no where in sight. He only hoped she didn't go inside and tell his mum what had happened.  
  
He ran faster, sprinting across the wet grass, slipping every so often. George tried to silenced his footfall as he stepped onto the patio and inched forward towards the lighted window. Cautiously peeking in, he saw his mother, reading a book at the table. His Father was pacing back and forth, saying something every so often.  
  
"She's not here," he told himself, sitting down and leaning against the side of the house. Why was she mad at him? It didn't seem right ... it's not like he did anything. Wetting his lips nervously, he could still taste their kiss. He closed his eyes and recalled the way she had smiled up at him. He could still feel her hands exploring his body... he had to find her.  
  
Quickly, quietly George made his way around the house, checking the garden and the small pond, becoming more and more worried every passing second. Where was she?  
  
It was about then that someone came up behind him. George heard the click and put his hands up in the air and immediately called out: "I surrender!"  
  
"What!? You can't do that!" Bill exclaimed. In a few milli-seconds, George heard Bill fire and felt a painful sting in his lower back.  
  
"Ah!! Shnikies!... ouch!" George turned around and rubbed the place where the paint filled bullet had hit him. The orange paint was sticky and made his fingers slippery. "You're not supposed to be that close with a paint gun!"  
  
"And you're not supposed to be that close with a girl..."Bill shot back. This took a couple seconds to register in George's mind.  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"Oh yes, Alicia told me," Bill told George, examining his paint gun.  
  
"She told YOU!? Why doesn't she just go tell the freaking world!?" George wondered aloud, throwing his hands up in the air.  
  
"I was the first person she came a crossed, I guess. It was really kind of sad ... " Bill said, frowning at George.  
  
"What did I do!?" George asked indignantly.  
  
Bill grinned manically, "Let's talk about the position you two were in, mmm?"  
  
George paused. Alicia really had told Bill everything. George sighed. "We weren't going to do anything..." he mumbled.  
  
Bill starred at his brother for a few moments before throwing his head back and letting out a great peal of laughter. it made him seem ten years younger. George didn't know whether to be upset or happy. "Yeah.. riiiight." Bill clapped his hand on George's shoulder and began leading him. The full-moon lit their path.  
  
"No! Really... gah... we weren't!" George whined. Bill snorted in an unbelieving kind of way.  
  
"Look, I'm not about to argue about this with you... I know girls, and I know guys. I am one ... come on, don't be a fool! Of course you were going to do something, whether you had intended to or not... she's a good lookin' girl," said Bill.  
  
George starred coldly at his oldest brother.  
  
"What!? She IS ... now come on, you're my prisoner," Bill demanded, his grip getting tighter on George's shoulder.  
  
"You have prisoners?!" George asked.  
  
"Now I have two..." Bill responded.  
  
"Who else was stupid enough to get caught by you?" George asked.  
  
"Same stupid person who teamed up with you for paintball," Bill replied. George immediately caught on, looked up at Bill's face, which had a smug smirk on it.  
  
"And did you shoot her too?" George asked curiously, his voice afflicted with a bit of an attitude.  
  
"I don't shoot girls... I treat them with respect and ... that sort of stuff," Bill said rather  
  
"Oh yeah, cause you get all the women," George remarked sarcastically. Bill quickly shoved the paint gun to George's face.  
  
"Shut up," Bill said, though he had a smile on his face. George shook his head and rolled his eyes.  
  
"I ... WAS treating her with respect... I think," George said quietly after a few seconds. They had just reached the shed.  
  
"Well something happened," Bill whispered quietly. George opened his mouth to argue, but Bill cut him off, "I'm not saying anything like THAT happened. I'm just saying she was really upset." The look on Bill's face was actually serious. George stared ... he couldn't remember the last time he saw Bill being truly serious. For moment he was worried his brother was actually growing up....  
  
'Nah ...' George told himself.  
  
"Um... is she really mad at me?"  
  
"Maybe ... but I mean, who could stay mad at George Weasley? From what I've heard, you're one of the funniest guys in the world." Bill answered him, smiling. George laughed and Bill patted him on the back.  
  
"Look, I really have had problems with women. Most of them are time bombs waiting to explode. Sometimes they're great and sometimes they're bitchy but it's just one of the burdens of being a man." Bill said. "What exactly happened?" Bill asked. George opened his mouth to tell his brother, but he couldn't find the words.  
  
"We were just ..." George wanted to say the word 'cuddling', but it sounded awkward.  
  
"Cuddling?" Bill suggested. George laughed out loud.  
  
"You could say that. And ... she, ah ... tickled me." George smiled. Bill let out a snort. "So I um ... tickled her back... and ... then we started ... " George starred at Bill, who blinked and tilted his head slightly to show that he was listening. "Kissing," George said half out of embarrassment, yet half out of pride. Bill smiled broadly.  
  
"Now you're a Weasley," Bill said. George laughed.  
  
"Well... um... things was getting kind of ... steamy ..." George laughed at the word. Bill's eyebrows rose. "Not that far, though!!" George assured his brother. Bill chuckled grinned.  
  
"So then what happened?" Bill asked.  
  
"Fred popped up," said George, a grimaced frowned on his face.  
  
"Ah ... I get it now ... say no more," Bill said, whipping out his wand. He unlocked the shed door and George reached out to open it. "Oh, and one more thing, George." George looked up at his oldest brother, who, not for the first time that night, seemed so much older now. There was an inherent strength in his face, but the way his usually broad shoulders were rather slumped said Bill was weary. It made him seem wiser than ever. "Your heart is so full of youth, that for love. well, there's not much room. Just remember: If it's a rose, it will bloom."  
  
George stood for a moment, wondering what his brother meant. Bill left his younger brother to ponder; apparently sure that George had no intent of leaving the shed now. And as George thought for a few more moments, he reached for the door handle.  
  
George peered around the shed, which was surprisingly well lit. Several candles flickered as the door closed behind him and it was about then that he spotted Alicia lying down on an old bench.  
  
"Alicia?" George said her name quietly. Alicia only starred at the ceiling. George made his way through piles of boxes, and around a muggle object hanging from the already low ceiling. "Alicia, I ..." George started to say but he couldn't think of anything to say. She didn't move, or even acknowledge his presence. George furrowed his brow and took a seat in a flimsy patio chair near the bench. He ran his hands from the back of his neck and up through his hair and finally rested his forehead in the right. "I don't know why you're mad at me..." George said half out of anger and half out of confusion.  
  
"I'm not mad at you ..." Alicia responded after a moment.  
  
"Well... I'm sorry things went as far as they did...." said George trying to be conservative by not actually saying what they had done. 'Which really wasn't all that much anyways,' George thought.  
  
"It's alright... I mean... it's not like..." Alicia started. She just didn't seem to be able to put it into words. "I didn't think... we were going to do anything."  
  
George didn't know what to say. "We weren't! I mean... I didn't plan on it."  
  
Neither of them spoke for a long couple of moments.  
  
"I'm sorry," Alicia filled the empty space of silence.  
  
"Why are YOU sorry!?" George was completely taken aback.  
  
"For acting the way I did," Alicia sat up in the bench and leaned forward a bit, fiddling with the ring on her finger. "I mean, it's not like you planned it or anything ... right?" Alicia starred at George as she added the last word.  
  
"Never!" George said standing up and sitting next to Alicia on the bench. He took her hand in his own. "I would never do anything like that to you," George assured her. She smiled and put her head on George's shoulder.  
  
"I know," Alicia responded.  
  
"I'm sorry about Fred ..." George said. He smirked painfully, remembering the look on Fred's face when he first saw them. Why Fred?! Why not Charlie ... or Bill? Or Angelina. Anyone but Fred...  
  
"It's not your fault. You two are so different sometimes..." Alicia said. George took a deep breath at this. He didn't know whether to smile, or frown. In a way he was glad he had finally succeeded his goal to let the world know hid twin and he were not exactly alike, but at the same time he felt like he was betraying his twin.  
  
"Why is that?" George wanted to know.  
  
"I dunno... it's just sometimes you're so nice and he's never really nice like you are. You're so," Alicia paused and George noticed her fighting to say the word, "Romantic ... though I've never really been romanced by Fred." Alicia and George both laughed at this. George frowned at the thought, but he still laughed.  
  
"And you've been romance by me?" George chuckled.  
  
"Well, considering the events of the pat hour, I would say yes."  
  
"Oh."  
  
There was a silence in which Alicia rested her head on George's shoulder. He hadn't noticed he was still holding her hand until Alicia wriggled her fingers into his so they were intertwined again. George squeezed her hand slightly.  
  
"George..." Alicia started. He waited for her to finish, but it didn't really seem like she had much else to say. He wondered if he should prompt her.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"How long have you liked me?" Alicia whispered a silky smoothness to the way she spoke.  
  
George, slightly taken a back, but quickly regaining himself, kissed the top of Alicia's head.  
  
"I think it's been five years," he responded, putting his arm around her shoulder.  
  
Alicia took her head off his shoulder and looked up into his eyes. "Really." she said, as though it were a fact, not a question.  
  
"Yup, ever since you tripped me on the train."  
  
"Oh! So, is that why you picked on me all these years?"  
  
George squared his shoulders, his jaw set. "You can't mess with a Weasley twin and not expect a bit of revenge to be in order." Alicia's gentle laugh rippled through the air. George gave a goofy grin, which soon deepened into a laugh.  
  
She looked up at him with dreamy mahogany eyes that were so warm and inviting. George nervously moistened his dry lips and caught his breath as she sent him that smile he had so eagerly been drawn to the first time he saw her on the Hogwarts express.  
  
And then he tickled her....  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ There. I'm done. I probably won't change it again, though I may add some chapters. This takes place during the very early summer at the beginning Prisoner of Azkaban, so the twins are still a wee bit young. I don't know, sometimes I view the Harry Potter World as a group of people who really are kind of naive and innocent-and of course, there's the paint guns. I know what you're thinking. lets just say Charlie has connections, ha. I'm rededicating this fan-fiction to Ben because he's the only person who actually knows I write these and doesn't beg me to let him read them. Thank you, Ben, for being so understanding and for seeing the diamond in the chunk of coal that I am. Also, thank you for your wacky inspiration, charming wit, and devilish smile. You always know how to make me smile. 


End file.
